Canada silent on whether new U.S. review will hit CNOOC timeline

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's government on Wednesday sidestepped a question on whether its review of CNOOC Ltd's planned bid for Nexen Inc would be affected by the two firms' decision to resubmit an application for U.S. approval.

Asked in the House of Commons about the possible impact that the U.S. resubmitted review could have on Canada's review, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said only that the government was reviewing the CNOOC proposal.

He also said that while Canada was open for foreign investment, the government would neither block nor rubber-stamp all foreign takeover bids.